Q: My ex husband stopped making spousal support payments in April. What Can I do?
We were married over 25 years, support was court ordered for long term marriage. He went on furlough when Covid started, and collected unemployment benefits...now I believe he has retired early from his union job, so the checks that were issued by his employer stopped. He refuses to comply. Divorce has been final almost 6 years.
A: You may need to take your ex-spouse to court and you should definitely consult an attorney about this issue because long-term spousal support is very complex. You could start by reaching out to your ex-husband and making sure he knows where to send you his spousal support checks. While his unemployment and retirement don't automatically give him the ability to stop paying (unless that is in your divorce judgment), they can create a situation where he could go to court and get the spousal support terminated or reduced. So, I cannot recommend enough that you take your divorce judgment and get a consultation with an attorney.
A: You should get an order assigning payment of your support to you out of every check he gets in retirement - just like an earnings assignment order - file a N-195 assignment orderand have it served on the entity that pays out the early retirement benefits. a certified document assistant can help you with the form and getting it filed and service. Best of Luck.
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